Minnesota Now

Minnesota is quickly becoming the land of healthcare mergers. Just last week, central Minnesota's largest healthcare provider CentraCare announced it will acquire Stellis Health. The news followed an announcement last month from HealthPartners and Essentia Health saying they will combine their operations in the Upper Midwest. California-based Sutter Health plans to acquire Allina Health, which is...

The Hennepin County Attorney has charged a prominent right-wing activist and another man for misrepresenting their identities at polling places during Minnesota’s primary election in August. James O’Keefe and Cameron Higby face felony charges for unlawful voting and identity theft. Jon Collins joined MPR News host Nina Moini to explain.

The second annual STEM Book Fest took place over the weekend at the Bakken Center in Minneapolis. The festival brings together authors to talk about science, technology, engineering and math. One of the speakers was Valerie Tiberius, a philosophy professor at the University of Minnesota. She talked about the rise of people forming friendships with artificial intelligence. Her book, called " Artifi...

The parents of Alex Pretti are demanding information from the Trump administration on the investigation into their son's killing by Border Patrol agents in January. We'll have updates from their first news conference, held this Tuesday morning in Minneapolis. St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her says she plans to eventually clear what's now the city's largest homeless encampment but does not have a specific...

A new podcast from ESPN tells the story of Samia Yusuf Omar, a Somali sprinter who captured hearts when she represented her country at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Samia dreamed of competing again at the 2012 Olympics in London, but she faced enormous obstacles pursuing that goal. She died at 21 while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea in search of a better future. The podcast, called "The...

It's been a contentious few months for St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her. This summer, she received pushback after directing the clearing of an encampment near Pig's Eye Park. She then faced a lawsuit from Police Chief Axel Henry for sexual harassment allegations. The results of an independent investigation into these claims did not find evidence that she sexually harassed the Chief but did find she acted...

With a week to go before midterm elections, national names are stepping in to support Minnesota candidates. We'll hear how President Donald Trump, former president Barack Obama and political commentator Hasan Piker are trying to reach Minnesota voters. Researchers say northeastern Minnesota lost an estimated $9 million in economic activity due to this summer's wildfires. We'll check in with a Cook...

The U.S. Census Bureau won’t count the nation’s population again until 2030. But the federal agency is making plans for the survey now. And the Trump Administration wants to change who gets counted, as well as the questions they’re asked. Under a proposed rule announced last month, the census would no longer include immigrants who aren’t U.S. citizens or permanent residents. And it would stop coll...

A new study is giving us a first look at the economic impact of the wildfires this summer in the Boundary Waters. Researchers at the University of Minnesota Duluth looked at Ely and Grand Marais, and in July alone, estimated an economic loss of $9 million. Using cell phone ping data, the study looked at the number of visitors to each city. Because the data looks at the number of pings per day, vis...

All of Minnesota’s men’s professional sports teams currently playing are all leading their respective leagues (hopefully we didn’t jinx it). The Timberwolves are just at the start of their season. But the Vikings are one-third of the way through and are sitting undefeated. And the Wild are sitting on top of their division. Plus, for the first time in decades the Minnesota Gophers have all three Bi...

The Trump Administration wants to send federal election monitors to polls in two Minnesota counties on Election Day. A spokesperson for the Minnesota Secretary of State's office told MPR News the U.S. Department of Justice has notified Hennepin and Ramsey counties of its plans to observe voting locations in November. The agency gave similar notice to elections staff in at least four other states,...

The Department of Justice said it will send election monitors to polls in Hennepin and Ramsey counties on Election Day. We spoke to Secretary of State Steve Simon about what federal election monitors are and how his office is preparing. A new report says Minnesotans are travelling further and waiting longer to receive medical care. We heard more about what hospital leaders are calling a crisis of...

Minnesota Now’s series called “Thank You, Stranger” explores the small acts of kindness that make a big impact. Roze Mulen was grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s in Bloomington when the cashier helped make her day a little bit better. She shared her story on TikTok and it got more than 50,000 views. Minnesota Now producer Aleesa Kuznetsov spoke with Mulen about the help she received in this installm...

A University of Minnesota researcher is helping to identify priorities for climate science across the country after President Donald Trump paused and dismissed the contributors of the 6th National Climate Assessment in 2025. Melissa Kenney is a part of a group of scientists trying to continue similar work on their own. The new paper, recently published in Earth’s Future and the Journal of the Amer...

Hospital leaders say Minnesotans are facing a crisis of care — and they expect things to get even worse. That’s the topline of a new report from the Minnesota Hospital Association out this week. Backed by data from 2024, it says Minnesotans are having to travel further and wait longer to get care. It’s the result of hospitals facing rising costs they’re struggling to absorb all while seeing record...

What do pottery, pasta making and pickleball have in common? You can learn about all of these things through a community education class! Minnesota school districts offer an incredible variety of classes for people of all ages, interests and skill levels. Community education professionals from across the state gathered in Rochester this week for the Minnesota Community Education Association’s annu...

Leadership at Red Lake Nation is in dispute after a federal investigation found child neglect and abuse in the tribe's child welfare program. Community members are now coming together to find a way forward. A new partnership aims to train more doctors to provide obstetric care in rural communities in Minnesota. Plus, an anthology out this week shares stories of aging from Minnesota women over the...

A new anthology brings together Minnesota women over age sixty-five to reflect on what it means to age and continue to be creative. It's called " Nick of Time: Women Write about Art and Aging ." The collection was edited by Morgan Grayce Willow, Julie Landsman and Debra J. Stone. Landsman and Stone joined MPR News host Kelly Gordon with a look inside the book and the story behind it.

Nearly 30 Minnesota hospitals have stopped providing obstetric services over the past 15 years, leaving fewer options for families who need maternity care close to home, according to University of Minnesota research . Now, CentraCare and UMN are launching a new fellowship to train family medicine doctors in obstetrics, with a focus on rural communities in the state. The first fellows will begin tr...

The Red Lake Nation is grappling with a federal investigation that alleged abuse and neglect in the tribe's child welfare program. A federal notice describes the deaths of as many as eight Red Lake Nation children since 2021. It says tribal officials refused to cooperate with federal investigators, while children remained in danger. Last month the federal government took over Red Lake Nation's chi...

On Friday, Minnesota native and astronaut Dr. Anil Menon will have been in space for 100 consecutive days. Since blasting off into space for his very first time in July, Dr. Menon has done his first spacewalk. As a physician, he's also been conducting medical experiments in zero gravity. MPR News Chief Meteorologist Ben Cathey talked with Dr. Menon as he dialed in from the International Space Stat...

Musician Charlie Parr has been a mainstay of Minnesota’s blues scene. He was born in Austin, Minn., and now splits his time between Duluth and St. Paul. He has more than a dozen albums to his name, and his latest was released on Friday, called “ Rooming House .” He joined MPR News host Emily Bright in the studio to listen to some of his music and talk about why he calls this album a “conceptual fo...

Starting Wednesday, Shiloh Cares Food Shelf in north Minneapolis is trying a new solution to feed its neighbors even after it closes for the day. It’s opening a row of food lockers that can be accessed with a code anytime. For details, MPR News host Emily Bright spoke with Pastor Jalilia Abdul-Brown, executive director of Change Starts with Community at Shiloh Temple church, who led the project.

State law enforcement officials are trying a new approach to gang violence. The call for coordination came after a string of shootings across the Twin Cities that involved Somali youth. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said the new approach is modeled after what’s known as the New Jersey Strategy. James Densely is a professor at Metropolitan State University who researches gang violen...

State law enforcement say they'll begin sharing more information on what they call group and gang violence. The approach is modeled after what’s known as the “New Jersey Strategy.” We hear from an expert about lessons learned back east. We'll get the latest in a series about the lives that led top candidates to this year's ballot. This time, we’ll hear from Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Peggy F...